'Big Daddy' will vie for 200-mph barrier in an electric dragster

"Big Daddy" Don Garlits, left, and his grandson, Rodney, right, pose with Swamp Rat 37, his new Electric Dragster, which was mostly apart for repairs and modification, in his shop at Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing south of Ocala on Tuesday. Garlits will make another attempt at 200 mph in the Electric Dragster this Sunday, June 8, in Bradenton,.

Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Star-Banner

By Andy FillmoreCorrespondent

Published: Thursday, June 5, 2014 at 6:27 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, June 5, 2014 at 6:27 p.m.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misidentified Rodney Garlits, Don Garlits' Grandson.

Think of Don Garlits' legendary drag-racing career, and the color mostly likely to come to mind is black.

Picture a man in a black helmet piloting a black top-fuel dragster down a black strip of asphalt.

Now 82, the man they call "Big Daddy" has another color in mind as he tries to shatter one more barrier in a career full of landmark records.

Green. Not as in money. As in trees — sustainability.

Garlits and his "Quest for 200 Miles Per Hour on Batteries" team are scheduled to make another try at breaking the 200-mph barrier in an electric dragster on Sunday at Bradenton Motorsports Park.

Garlits is to make the attempt in his SR 37, the latest in the SR — for "Swamp Rat" — series of vehicles with which he has smashed records over the years, this one being much more environmentally friendly than its predecessors.

"I'm sure we'll make it this time. We've made some gearing changes, and we are ready," Garlits said as he worked on several projects last week at the garage attached to his Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing south of Ocala.

Garlits walked to the back of his garage and pointed to several huge oak trees.

"The electricity used by the SR 37 is produced at a central power plant where [emissions] can be controlled," he said. "[That] helps sustain trees, which produce oxygen."

"The current top-fuel dragsters are not sustainable," Garlits said. "I believe the internal combustion engines will become a novelty. The fueled dragsters cost thousands of dollars to operate compared to a few cents."

Technicians working on the project estimate its energy costs at about a quarter per run, according to Garlits.

Garlits foresees ESPN coverage of electric-car races, a cleaner, more affordable display of driver talent as well as an answer to what Garlits calls "factory domination."

It's also easier on the ears.

"If we had electric cars all along, my hearing would be fine," said Garlits whose hearing has been damaged by decades of the ear-splitting roar of the 392 and 426 Dodge Hemi internal combustion engines used in his dragsters.

"As far as the noise, the spectators loved the electric," Garlits said, adding the crowd was able to concentrate on the racing without the anticipation of deafening decibels.

Garlits, the winner of three National Hot Rod Association Championships, four international drag racing championships and 10 American Hot Rod Association Championships in a 50-year-plus career, is considered by many to be the top drag racer of all time.

"Big Daddy," still a spry 162 pounds as an octogenarian, appears decades younger as he hops about the garage checking on gearing for the SR 37 and working on the heads of the 426 engine in the historic Swamp Rat 11.

Chris Bumpus, Garlits' garage foreman who also is involved in the SR 37 project, said the SR 11 is being taken out of the museum and brought up to operational standards for an NHRA event set for September in Indianapolis, marking Garlits' breaking of the seven-second quarter mile in 1967.

Garlits won the national championship in Indianapolis that year, and shaved off a weeks-old beard grown through the racing season as promised on occasion of the victory.

Randy Cannon, spokesman for the Quest for 200 mph on Batteries team, said this Sunday's record attempt recalls another 1960s Garlits milestone.

"The goal is to accomplish this speed mark in 2014 with our driver, the legendary 'Big Daddy' Don Garlits," Cannon wrote in an email. "2014 marks the 50th anniversary of Garlits' historic first official 200 mph pass in 1964."

Garlits, a Tampa-area native, brought SR 37 to Bradenton for a try at 200 mph on April 30.

He posted a 184-mph pass over the quarter-mile at 7.26 seconds, but the session was cut short.

"The current draw, when nearing full power, was too much for the internal battery fuses," he said.

Lawless, whose Lawless Industries of Poland, Ohio, makes electric drives for floats and other equipment at Disney World and other theme parks, said he "caught the electric dragster fever in 2002."

He also has produced an electric drag bike, which has hit 201 mph at 6.94 seconds.

Lawless, 48, said SR 37's motors and drives "worked flawlessly" during the April run.

Lawless said the motor arrangement now used in SR 37 is comprised of six, 7.5-inch-diameter, 8,000-rpm General Electric motors placed end-to-end to form a "V" shape. The motors are chain-coupled to a system using a B&J transmission and a Mark Williams rear end.

The motors, originally 10 horsepower, have been modified to produce "250 horsepower… for short bursts" or about "1,300 [total] horsepower at 1,200 foot pounds of torque." The type of motor was selected because it mimics internal combustion rpm characteristics.

Lawless said his company's expense to date in the SR 37 project is about $120,000.

Cannon said the battery power by Derek Barger/HighTech Systems LLC of Colorado "will produce 1,500 kilowatts (1.5 megawatts) of instantaneous launch energy for the digger, a total power source of over 2000 HP."

"The array is comprised of four packs, two per side pod, and operates at a peak voltage of 420V. Total battery power weight is 500 pounds, about the same as a fully dressed Top Fuel engine. The entire battery array can be fully recharged and ready for the next run in as little as 5 minutes," Cannon wrote.

According to Cannon, the SR 37 and Quest for 200 mph on Batteries traces it's roots to a 2011 series of exhibition drag-race matches between Garlits and paralyzed drag racer Darrell Gwynn in low-powered, joystick-controlled electric vehicles.

The matches, held at several drag strips, benefitted the nonprofit Darrell Gwynn Foundation, which supports people with paralysis and works to prevent spinal cord injuries (www.darrellgwynnfoundation.org), and the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing.

Gwynn had been using a joystick-controlled vehicle designed by dragster builder Mike Gerry for NHRA appearances since 2001. Gerry also built the two electric match cars and then kicked off the SW37 project when he and Garlits discussed just how fast the battery-powered cars could travel.

For Garlits, a successful run Sunday would be the first racing milestone not to be shared with his beloved wife, Patricia, who died on Feb. 2.

Garlits has credited Patricia's support in the tough, early days of his career, recalling her insisting he use some of the couple's early savings to buy modification parts for flathead engines in the early 1950s. He went on to attain many firsts, and spearheaded the much-safer rear-engine dragster.

<p><i>CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misidentified Rodney Garlits, Don Garlits' Grandson. </i></p><p>Think of Don Garlits' legendary drag-racing career, and the color mostly likely to come to mind is black.</p><p>Picture a man in a black helmet piloting a black top-fuel dragster down a black strip of asphalt.</p><p>Now 82, the man they call "Big Daddy" has another color in mind as he tries to shatter one more barrier in a career full of landmark records.</p><p>Green. Not as in money. As in trees — sustainability.</p><p>Garlits and his "Quest for 200 Miles Per Hour on Batteries" team are scheduled to make another try at breaking the 200-mph barrier in an electric dragster on Sunday at Bradenton Motorsports Park.</p><p>Garlits is to make the attempt in his SR 37, the latest in the SR — for "Swamp Rat" — series of vehicles with which he has smashed records over the years, this one being much more environmentally friendly than its predecessors.</p><p>"I'm sure we'll make it this time. We've made some gearing changes, and we are ready," Garlits said as he worked on several projects last week at the garage attached to his Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing south of Ocala.</p><p>Garlits walked to the back of his garage and pointed to several huge oak trees.</p><p>"The electricity used by the SR 37 is produced at a central power plant where [emissions] can be controlled," he said. "[That] helps sustain trees, which produce oxygen."</p><p>"The current top-fuel dragsters are not sustainable," Garlits said. "I believe the internal combustion engines will become a novelty. The fueled dragsters cost thousands of dollars to operate compared to a few cents."</p><p>Technicians working on the project estimate its energy costs at about a quarter per run, according to Garlits.</p><p>Garlits foresees ESPN coverage of electric-car races, a cleaner, more affordable display of driver talent as well as an answer to what Garlits calls "factory domination."</p><p>It's also easier on the ears.</p><p>"If we had electric cars all along, my hearing would be fine," said Garlits whose hearing has been damaged by decades of the ear-splitting roar of the 392 and 426 Dodge Hemi internal combustion engines used in his dragsters.</p><p>"My daughter GayLyn Capitano plays piano, and the drag race noise was a concern," Garlits said.</p><p>"As far as the noise, the spectators loved the electric," Garlits said, adding the crowd was able to concentrate on the racing without the anticipation of deafening decibels.</p><p>Garlits, the winner of three National Hot Rod Association Championships, four international drag racing championships and 10 American Hot Rod Association Championships in a 50-year-plus career, is considered by many to be the top drag racer of all time.</p><p>"Big Daddy," still a spry 162 pounds as an octogenarian, appears decades younger as he hops about the garage checking on gearing for the SR 37 and working on the heads of the 426 engine in the historic Swamp Rat 11.</p><p>Chris Bumpus, Garlits' garage foreman who also is involved in the SR 37 project, said the SR 11 is being taken out of the museum and brought up to operational standards for an NHRA event set for September in Indianapolis, marking Garlits' breaking of the seven-second quarter mile in 1967.</p><p>Garlits won the national championship in Indianapolis that year, and shaved off a weeks-old beard grown through the racing season as promised on occasion of the victory.</p><p>Randy Cannon, spokesman for the Quest for 200 mph on Batteries team, said this Sunday's record attempt recalls another 1960s Garlits milestone.</p><p>"The goal is to accomplish this speed mark in 2014 with our driver, the legendary 'Big Daddy' Don Garlits," Cannon wrote in an email. "2014 marks the 50th anniversary of Garlits' historic first official 200 mph pass in 1964."</p><p>Garlits, a Tampa-area native, brought SR 37 to Bradenton for a try at 200 mph on April 30.</p><p>He posted a 184-mph pass over the quarter-mile at 7.26 seconds, but the session was cut short.</p><p>Shawn Lawless, designer of SR 37's electric motor, explained the reason for cutting the attempt short: </p><p>"The current draw, when nearing full power, was too much for the internal battery fuses," he said.</p><p>Lawless, whose Lawless Industries of Poland, Ohio, makes electric drives for floats and other equipment at Disney World and other theme parks, said he "caught the electric dragster fever in 2002."</p><p>He also has produced an electric drag bike, which has hit 201 mph at 6.94 seconds.</p><p>Lawless, 48, said SR 37's motors and drives "worked flawlessly" during the April run. </p><p>Lawless said the motor arrangement now used in SR 37 is comprised of six, 7.5-inch-diameter, 8,000-rpm General Electric motors placed end-to-end to form a "V" shape. The motors are chain-coupled to a system using a B&J transmission and a Mark Williams rear end.</p><p>The motors, originally 10 horsepower, have been modified to produce "250 horsepower… for short bursts" or about "1,300 [total] horsepower at 1,200 foot pounds of torque." The type of motor was selected because it mimics internal combustion rpm characteristics.</p><p>Lawless said his company's expense to date in the SR 37 project is about $120,000.</p><p>Cannon said the battery power by Derek Barger/HighTech Systems LLC of Colorado "will produce 1,500 kilowatts (1.5 megawatts) of instantaneous launch energy for the digger, a total power source of over 2000 HP."</p><p>"The array is comprised of four packs, two per side pod, and operates at a peak voltage of 420V. Total battery power weight is 500 pounds, about the same as a fully dressed Top Fuel engine. The entire battery array can be fully recharged and ready for the next run in as little as 5 minutes," Cannon wrote.</p><p>According to Cannon, the SR 37 and Quest for 200 mph on Batteries traces it's roots to a 2011 series of exhibition drag-race matches between Garlits and paralyzed drag racer Darrell Gwynn in low-powered, joystick-controlled electric vehicles.</p><p>The matches, held at several drag strips, benefitted the nonprofit Darrell Gwynn Foundation, which supports people with paralysis and works to prevent spinal cord injuries (www.darrellgwynnfoundation.org), and the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing.</p><p>Gwynn had been using a joystick-controlled vehicle designed by dragster builder Mike Gerry for NHRA appearances since 2001. Gerry also built the two electric match cars and then kicked off the SW37 project when he and Garlits discussed just how fast the battery-powered cars could travel.</p><p>For Garlits, a successful run Sunday would be the first racing milestone not to be shared with his beloved wife, Patricia, who died on Feb. 2.</p><p>Garlits has credited Patricia's support in the tough, early days of his career, recalling her insisting he use some of the couple's early savings to buy modification parts for flathead engines in the early 1950s. He went on to attain many firsts, and spearheaded the much-safer rear-engine dragster.</p><p>Garlits' daughter, Donna, 53, is CFO of the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing.</p><p>Pictures on the walls at the museum show Garlits with his and Patricia's two young daughters in the 1960s, when drag racing was still overcoming its image as a sport for the black-jacketed set.</p><p>Meanwhile, Rodney Garlits, his grandson, is involved in the project, and the two plan electric drag exhibitions in 2015.</p><p>As for Sunday, expect an exciting day, said Alan Chervitz, owner of Bradenton Motorsports Park, who describes electric drag racing as "more dramatic."</p><p>"It's a different sensation," Chervitz said. "For Garlits' April attempt, the fans came early and stayed late. That says it all."</p>